Quiet times again!

 Here it is almost March and I just really don't have anything to report!  Well, a few things but they are remarkably dull.  Like we got our first corona virus shot a couple weeks ago but that was just as dull as you would want it to be.  We signed up to get it at Walgreen's because they were offering them and no one else was saying boo about it.  We went in and stood around for a few minutes until some guy came and gave my wife her shot then me mine.  It was totally painless at the time.  My arm was kind of sore the next day but after that nothing.  We got the Moderna vaccine but I haven't really heard that one is better than another.  We are scheduled for the second shot in about two weeks. NOW our county seems to have awakened and the VA is offering shots, both our doctor's offices have offered shots, even the county government has a program.  Where were they a month ago?  Bah, humbug!

Unlike Texas (and much of the US) we have been having pretty nice weather:  50ish in the day and 25ish at night.  We have to pull in the hummingbird feeders every night but that's nothing like having to shovel snow!  Of course we had an entire summer and fall without rain but who's counting?  Actually, that is a scary thing around here.  People are pumping water out of the aquifer like it will be never-ending.  It's not unusual to find houses with 50-60 full grown trees on an acre lot.  But, you know, all good things come to an end.  My wife and I talk about it sometimes; will our house suddenly become worthless?  Certainly it would be tough trying to find buyers if wells started going dry!  We don't have cable tv in our particular neighborhood because there isn't the population to make it worth doing.  Imagine if we wanted a public water supply; even IF they could find a supply.  You've got to dig a lot of trenches to pipe water around.  Our street is about 1 3/4 miles long and there are 17 houses.  There are more lots, of course, but empty lots would probably be dumped by their owners if the town came along and wanted maybe $15K per lot for providing water service.  

So on a lighter note, I saw this truck drive by the other day and wondered what the devil it was carrying.

Then the driver parked and I got to see the other side.

Of course, slot machines!  It is Nevada after all.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands and wearing those masks!

Orlando North

Warning:  Another grumpy post!  Stop reading if you aren't up for more gloom.

Just another weekend in Chicago.   "A 5-year-old girl was among forty people shot in Chicago over the weekend, seven of which were fatal."  Racist, hate crimes, drivebys - does it matter?  You are still dead.  I've got to agree that AK-47 type weapons don't belong in civilian life but clearly people are more than willing to kill each other.

I hope it doesn't come as a surprise to anyone but people are not always the way we would like them to be.  They get mad, crazy mad, and do things that another day they would never consider.  They get fascinated by ideas or philosophies and bury themselves in twisted thoughts to the point they lose their common humanity.  They are simply careless and do stupid things.  It's all part of being human.  It isn't pretty but we really are closely related to the other members of the animal kingdom.  We put our minds to it and bring animal violence to a whole new level.   

I personally believe that some of the blame needs to go to all the violence we see on television and in movies.  Maybe I'm totally wrong but if you watch a couple hours of tv it's easy to see five or six people be shot.  If they are 'bad guys' they probably don't get up again.  If they are 'good guys' they are walking around with their arm in a sling by the next day aka the end of the show.  What kind of shit is that?  In the army I had careful instruction in using weapons to kill others.  I was lucky and never had to put that knowledge to work but I have it still. 

Of course, if Orlando hadn't enough trouble this week, there is the story of the 2 year old taken by an alligator in front of his parents!  Talk about something that would blow your mind.  I really feel for those people.  How the hell are they supposed to get through something like that?  We lived just outside Orlando for a few years in the 1980's.  There are LOTS of alligators in Florida.  People don't realize it but there is a gator in practically every body of water.  They were in the 'manufactured' lake by the office, in the natural lake in our sub-division, in the ponds by the side of the freeway.  And they get hungry.  Even I can't blame that on television.

Ok, I'm done.  I'll take a cheerful pill and be back to normal soon.  I promise.  In the mean time, thanks for stopping by and try to have a good one!

GRRR! Google is doing an Apple

As of a couple days ago I started getting a message when I log into Blogger - "Your browser is no longer supported by Blogger.  Some parts of Blogger will not work and you may experience problems.  If you are having problems, try Google Chrome."  Grrr!  That's the reason I hate Apple, they try very hard to force you into using all their proprietary shit.  Now Google is doing the same thing!  Double Grrr!

I'm going to go on using Firefox as long as I can.  I've got a copy of Chrome but have been avoiding using it simply because I don't want to.  It's probably a perfectly good browser, maybe better than Firefox but, it's the principle of the thing.  What a bunch of jerks.

We have decided our trip up to Washington was a success based on a new criteria:  we are willing to get into the trailer again!  Sometimes we just don't look forward to another trip.  This time we are already planning a trip to San Diego and LA.  Again we are talking just a couple weeks rather than a whole month; we are thinking that is part of the difference.  We also didn't have many long days on the road.  We think that makes the trip much harder. 

I assume everyone has heard of the possible malware that is supposed to infect your computer and makes it impossible to convert DNS codes to legible names.  If you haven't heard, this hack was done quite a while ago but was caught by the FBI and foreign security services.  However, the only way they could figure out to keep people from crashing was to substitute temporary servers for the hacked ones.  Now they need to remove those temporary servers so if your computer won't talk to the internet on Monday, lucky you!  Do a search on 'DNS problem' or something and you'll find sites to help figure out if you are infected and what to do about it.

I found a book at the local Friends of the Library store about chili.  Written in 1981 it is 'The Great American Chili Book'.  The author talks about chili (the soup) as a food, then offers some recipes.  Some are interesting, one or two might even be useful.
- chili from the U.S. Army Tm 10-412 - start with 24 lb ground beef....
- chili for 600 - 25 lb dried ancho chile pods!
- mountain oyster chili - 2 lb calf testicles....
Some of the folks have strong opinions:  "This business of putting tomatoes in a dish of chili is an abomination, and anyone who would do such a thing should be forced to consume a whole fried chicken cooked in castor oil."  You can bet I'll be modifying my chili making in the near future.  Not to say I'll be stealing a recipe but making some modifications to my own. 

Gotta go.  Have a good one.

Did I mention rain?

The other day when we had all the wind, we got a few drops of rain.  This is an un-retouched photo of our bathroom window.

I have done nothing to it but make it smaller than the original.  You are looking at a concrete block wall with some evergreens beyond it.  Yep, looks like someone has been messing with the photo but it is just a dirty window.  Now I'm glad we didn't wash the windows for our visitors!  Here's a link to the local paper.

We have lots of clean-up but it's pretty minor stuff really.  Since we have no trees, we have no branches down.  Since our cars were in the garage, we don't have to wash them.  (The local car wash was still doing a great business today.)  We do have to clean the windows but they needed it anyway.  I'm happy!  We managed an 85mph (135kph) gust of wind according to the tv news.  Impressive, I must say.  We looked out at our new spa and the cover was trying to fly away.  I put 4 concrete blocks on it to dissuade it from leaving.  Worked like a champ too.  Of course, only in Pahrump to you need to have a stock of spare concrete blocks!  Our wind-sock blew down so I put it back up.  Fifteen minutes later it was at a 45 degree angle again.  Rats!  The second time I put in a new lower clamp that we've never needed before.  So far, so good. 

One thing happened that I've never heard of before but apparently it is a result of really low air pressure in our attic.  We have a simple attic entrance that consists of a piece of plywood fitted into a square in the ceiling.  Somehow it was pulled off the opening and insulation rained down on our floor.  That's why I noticed it; there was this white crap all over the hall.  Then I looked up and saw the plywood was moved to one side.  Amazing!  Went up there and didn't see any real damage.  I should re-position some of the insulation but that is definitely something for another day. 

So, here is to some quiet days.  At least we were dealing with nature.  Friends of friends in Mexico had a bit more of a problem with humanity.  Take care folks!

Vegas Day

I guess yesterday was too laid back because today we headed over the hump to Vegas and went car shopping. How's that for awful?

Our current truck is a 2000 GMC - the smallest of the full size pickups. It has served us well but it is getting older and things are getting a little cranky. Everything works and all; sometimes we just get a strange noise or something. It has 125,000 miles (201,000 km) of which about a third was traveled towing our trailer. I can't complain that it hasn't earned it's keep but it's time to start thinking replacement.

We did have a couple of things we needed to return to stores over there but we still made it to the Ford dealer by probably 13:00. This really fat kid salesman took us around showing us all the stuff. They had one 2008 pickup that was kind of interesting and a fair number of 09's; nothing that fit our exact desires but were close. We would like a long bed pickup this time around both for the longer wheelbase and for the additional room but it's hard to find. The buyers for the dealerships figure no one really carries much in their trucks so they only order the short beds. The difference is only something like 18 inches (45 cm) but I think it would make quite a difference. The 08 has a diesel engine which is a $7200 option that we don't care about but if their incentive is good enough we might go for it anyway. Since we keep our vehicles for so long I don't care about the thing being two years old. The 09 has a gas V-10 engine that I've heard is a gas hog. We left about 15:45 hoping we were ahead of the traffic and we mostly made it.

Anyway, the guy is supposed to email us some numbers on both the 08 and an 09 that they have. I find car buying exhausting work so I'm on my second scotch already. The salesman was standing around joking with other employees when we left so maybe he's not the guy we want to buy from. We'll see.

My wife took advantage of the time driving over there to call a friend who is dying of cancer. Not her sister who has just been diagnosed but a guy who had a really fast growing cancer and who has been undergoing chemotherapy. Apparently it didn't do a lot so yesterday we got an email from his wife saying "pray for a rapid end to his suffering". Jeez! Apparently he has good days and bad days so whether we should make a trip over to see him (Southern California) or not is kind of up in the air. She is supposed to give us a call and tell us what he would like. NOT a fun idea but sometimes that's life.

Dull, depressing post today. Sorry about that but I'm tired. Take care, it's dangerous out there!

Almost Gone!

Our dreaded visitors are almost gone. Actually, we were really excited that they were coming but knew we'd be just as excited to see them leaving. Let's see if I can explain.

There are just the two of us living here with our dog and cat. This weekend we had my wife's birth mother & her husband; their daughter (my wife's sister) and her husband; my wife's son and his Significant Other; and our daughter. That's four couples and a spare all staying in a three bedroom home (plus our RV). Add to the mix the fact that the birth mother is far from a stable personality and you have the usual run of stress. Finally add the fact that the sister has just announced that she is suffering from breast cancer. Just a regular thrill.

Happily the whole thing went well. No one threw anything; no one got really drunk; no one went crazy. Now they are all gone except for the son & his SO. They are pretty easy to be with so things are slowing down. As for the SIL who have breast cancer; she'll start treatment next month. No one can figure out why there is such a delay but she is as hard headed as anyone you've ever met so there's no talking her into any other treatment.

Take care; it's dangerous out there!

Nice afternoon here

Last week we finally bought some furniture for the patio. Not the quality that we had in Florida but comfortable and available. Had breakfast this morning then went outside to enjoy the weather. It's comfortable and behind the house the wind isn't obtrusive. It's a different thing if you are where the wind can get you directly; that's not particularly nice. Anyway, the cat decided to join us & I had to share his royal lion self.



We do get a lot of enjoyment from our animals. The way they shed doubles the amount of wash we have to do but...... The only downside for us is that we aren't willing to kennel them so we can travel overseas. I suppose we could but I just don't think it would be right. Neither has ever been in a kennel so it would be tough on them. And when we make the big flight, we want to stay a while. (Well, we got the dog from the pound but that was a LONG time ago!)

BTW, one of the things on my as-yet non-existent "bucket list" is to do some nice woodworking. I've got a couple of projects around the house that need doing so maybe I can get some satisfaction here. I'd REALLY love to do some cold molded epoxy work but that is going to have to wait.

One more thing: heard this afternoon that the Navy SEALS managed to get the captain of that ship away from the pirates who had captured him, killing 3 of the 4 pirates in the process. I know those pirates are just terribly poor guys who are trying to make a living in one of the poorest areas on the globe. Having said that, I'm so glad someone had the guts to take them out. Pirates are simply criminals; just like someone who carjacks you. Now if we weren't wasting tons of money fighting Mr. Bush's War on Terror; maybe we could afford another ship or three out there keeping the pirates ashore.

Until later. Take care, it's dangerous out there!

A week!

Can't believe it's been a week since I posted but why would Blogger lie?

Both nothing and everything has been happening. So let's start with the simple stuff. The landscaper is still banging away at our yard. It is becoming a rock-scape but damned slowly I think. We have from two to four guys in the yard all day. Every now and then the truck shows up with more of a certain kind of rock. The main guy was here this a.m. and said he was bringing in more of the expensive rock without cost to us, because it just needed it. (Guess we paid plenty, huh!) The work just takes a while I guess. I'll post a picture or two when we finally are finished.

Today we finally made a trip "over the hump" to Vegas. (There is a 5400 foot pass between here and there.) Bought towels and blankets for our expected family visit in late April. We also found some china we like (third or fourth time looking for it) and some silverware. The silverware we brought home but the china will be shipped to us. That was a quick $800! Then we went to another store and found a tv that should work in the guest room - a few odds and ends and there was another $400. Jeez, maybe we should stay at home and feed guests from paper plates & plastic utensils!

The real bummer of the day was waiting for us when we got home. Turns out that my wife's half-sister has breast cancer. We've been buying all this stuff partially because she, her husband and the parents are supposed to be visiting later in April. She found a lump; it's been tested and is a cancer. She is to meet her surgeon on 20 April then schedule the operation for some time in May. All we can do is offer our best wishes for her. How she can be as calm as she sounds is amazing. We are hoping that the visit will at least help keep her mind occupied for some of the time until her operation.

Hope all is well in your blogger world. Take care, it's dangerous out there!